Feed device for autographic registers



Aug. 28, A FL WN FEED DEVICE FOR AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTERS Filed Dec. 31, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet l 5 LAM/@02 M Aug. 28, 1951 P. A. FLAWN 2,565,915

FEED DEVICE FOR AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTERS Filed Dec. 31, 1946' 4 SheetsSheet 2 I-ve--ro b2 (0412, M, M rum Aug. 28, 1951 P. A, FLAWN FEED DEVICE FOR AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTERS Filed Dec. 51, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug. 28, 1951 FLAWN 2,565,915

FEED DEVICE FOR AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTERS Filed Dec. 31, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VENT'OR Patented Aug. 28, 1951 FEED DEVICE-FOR AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTERS p Percy Alfred Flawn, London, England, assignor to W. H. Smith & Son Limited, London, England, a British company Application December 31, Serial No. 719,426 M In Great Britain December 28, 1945 1 V I This is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 693,643, filed August 29, 1946.

This invention relates to so called autographic registers of the type (hereinafter referred to as the type described) in which a supply of continuous stationery strips is drawn from a zig-zag pack or a roll and is traversed step by step across a writing platen by feeding means operable by successive movements of an external handle or the equivalent. In some autographic registers of the above type, the operating handle is rotatable and a complete revolution of the handle is required for each feeding step. A more convenient arrangement is one in which the handle is moved through only a part, say one quarter, of a revolution for each feeding step and is then returned to the starting position. The invention is applicable to autographic registers" having oscillatory handles arranged in this way.

In autographic registers of the type described it is desirable that a positive stop should be provided for automatically limiting the length of stationery strips fed at each step, for example, the strips may have a succession of forms printed along their length and it is important in that event that exactly one form length should be fed at each movement of the handle. It is an object of the invention to provide in an oscillatory handle autographic register of the type described an improved form of stop mechanism forthis purpose. The present invention provides an oscillatory handle autographic register of the type described characterised by a feed limiting device comprising a driven member, a stop member arranged to stop movement of the driven member after a predetermined angular movement thereof corresponding to the feeding of a predetermined amount of stationery and a pawl movable by the handle and arranged to provide a one-way driving connection between the handle and the driven member and also as a preliminary to each feeding operation to disengage the stop member to release the driven member. v

In one form of the invention the pawl is carried by the handle for rotation therewith.

The invention also provides an oscillatory handle autographic register of the type described and having the characteristic feature that the driving connection between the operating handle or the equivalent and the stationery feeding means includes a feed limitingdevice comprising 4 Claims. (01. 2712.4)

a driving member movable by the handle, a driven member operatively connected to the stationery feeding means, a stop member arranged to engage and stopthe movement of the driven member (or a part in fixed driving connection therewith) after a predetermined amount of stationery has been fed and a pawl or the equivalent arranged to provide a one-way driving connection between the driving and driven members and also as a preliminary to each feeding operation to disengage the stop member. g

In a preferred form of the invention the feed limiting device comprises a spindle or the equivalent constituting the drivingjmember and .arranged for oscillatory movement by the operating handle, a rotatable ring coaxial with and surrounding the spindle in spaced relationship, the ring constituting the drivenfmember and having two or more apertures in'its circumference, a stop pawl outside the ring and arranged automatically to engage each aperture in turn from the outside to stop rotation of the ring and a driving pawl carriedbyj the spindle in the space between the spindle and ring and arranged at the beginning of each operation of the handle in the feeding direction to engage from the inside the aperture already engaged by the stop pawl to push the stop pawl;out 'of its engagement with the aperture and then by its engagement with the aperture to rotate the ring until the stop pawl by engagement with the next aperture prevents further movement of the ring.

The invention includes the inversion of the feed limiting device'just described'in which the stop pawl engages the apertures or the equivalent in the driven member from the inside thereof while the driving pawl engages the apertures from the outside of the driven member.

The feed limiting device may include a nonreturn device to prevent :backward movement of the stationery; This non-return device may comprise a ratchet engaging'teeth on the driven member of the feed, limiting device or, preferably, the ratchet is arranged to engage a toothed wheel driven by gearing from the driven member and carried, for example, on the shaft carrying the stationery feeding means.

One example of an autographic register embodying a feed limiting device forming the subject of this invention and modified forms of the feed limiting device will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the autographic register;

Figure 2 is a section partly broken away and on the line 2..-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail view in the direction 3-8 in,

Figure 2 showing the feed limiting device from one side ready for operation;

Figure 4 is a detail view showing the feed limiting device from the other side;

Figures 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views of a modification of the *feed limiting device;

Figure? 'is a diagrammatic view of a further modification of the device. 7

Figure 8 is a view of an alternative form of the feed limiting device suitable for use "with a modifled form of the register shown in Figures 1 and 2,, and

Figure 9 is a side view of the device shown in Figure 8.

In this example the autographic register comprises an outer casing I having-a hinged cover 2. provided with a rectangular aperture 3. Within the casing and secured to the bottom of the casing by screws 4 is an inner frame 5 which carries the feeding means and a writing platen 6. positioned below the aperture 3. In'use 'a zig-zag pack of continuous maniidldin'g stationery is placed in a compartment 1 and is traversed step by step-each step corresponding to a printed formover the writing platen by the feeding means. After the stationery'has passed over the platen one copy or more than one if desired is issued from the machine as indicated at 8 and another copy is .ied into a record compartment 9 and refoldedinto zigwzag form.

Theieedingmeansjfor the stationery comprise a pair of pin wheels .lli arranged to engage-marginal perforations in the stationery and driven through the feed limiting device and appropriate gearinglater described from the operating handle II. The .handle is arranged for manual operation througha quarter of a revolution for each feeding step and then to The returned to the starting position asshown 'in the drawings by the spring Id. The handle is carried on ashaft l3 supported in bearings in the inner frame 5 and an auxiliary .frame .6. The shaft [3 constitutes the driving member .of the iced limiting device andis provided w'itha .grooveddisc M-or equivalent radial arm-near the end remote from the handle H. The :disc 14 has a pin 15 extendin from one side {face and cooperating with a slot it in the auxiliary frame 5 to limit the travel of the handle.

The driven member pf the freed limiting device is in the form of a gear wheel 1'8 rotatable on the shaft. One side ,face of thegear wheelhas an upstanding ring 179 surrounding the .disc and spaced therefrom. The ring has four gaps or apertures equally spaced around its circumierence. The stoppawl 2'l 'ispivoted at 22 to the auxiliary frame 6 outside the ring 19, the pivot being ahead of the operative part '23 of the pawl considered in the direction of rotation indicated by the arrow .in'Figure 3. 'Thep'awlis urge'd'towards 'engagementwith'the outside of the'ring by the spring 25 and 'the'operati-vepart of theipawl is of rectangular form which is a working fit in the apertures in the ring. The driving pawl 2! is pivoted at '28wi thin the groove in the disc M with the operative part '30 oithepawl leading the pivot 'considered'in thedirection orrotation. The pawl'is of substantiallength relative to the radial distance between'the'pivot 28'and'theinside of the ring I9 so that when the pawl isin engagementwith'an aperture ifi'inthe ring, and rotary movement is appliedtothe driving-member, the pawl cxerts'pressure ,on'the drivenmemher in a direction such thatthereis a substantial component ofpressuredirectedradially'outwards.

This component of pressure is employed to enable the driving pawl to push the stop pawl out of its engagement with the aperture.

The apertures in the ring are each of rectangular formation and in order to assist in engagement of the stop pawls with the apertures, the end 'faces of the two pawls are slightly curved as indicated in Figure 3.

The gear l8 constituting the driven member .in driving engagement with a smaller gear 32 integral with a gear 33 in driving engagement with a gear 34 mounted on a shaft 35 carrying the pin wheels 10. The shaft 35 also carries a ratchet wheel 35 cooperating with a pawl 38 to constitute a non-return device preventing backward movement of the stationery. In an alternative arrangement the gear I8 is in direct driving engagement with a gear on the pin wheel shaft. The gear ratio may be varied to suit forms of difijerent lengths. For example in one construction the .ratio is such that the pin wheels make one complete revolutionfor each quarter turnof the driving and driven members of the "feed limiting device.

The operation of the feed limiting device described above is as follows. When operating pressure applied to the handle H the-driving pawl 21 is pressed into engagement-with'the aperture in the driven member already occupied by the part 2*3 of the stop -pawl. The driving pawl pushes the stop pawl out of engagementwiththe aperture and conveys rotary movement 'to the driven member i8. This movement continues until'the stoppawl engages in the next aperture and prevents further movement of the driven member. The handle is "then released and the spring returns the handle and driving paw-l "to their originalpositionsready for 'the'next operation of the device. The quarter turn given to'the driven member in this way is'transmittedthrough the gears to the shaft carrying the pin wheels which feed a corresponding length of stationery across the writing platen.

Figures 5 and 6 show, diagrammatically, an inverse modification of the arrangement fjust described. In this modification the driving member consists of the shaft '50 which is arranged for oscillation by the operating handle in the manner already described and which carries a disc 51 fixed to the shaft. The driven member consists of a .gear .52 rotatable on .the shaft and arranged, as before, to drive a shaft carrying feeding pin wheels. Thegear52hasonone face a ring 53 formed with apertures 1514.. The stop pawl 5,5isflocated within'the ring 1.53 and is pivoted at 56 to a fixedpart of theiramenot shown in the diagram. The driving pawl'5l is outside the ring 53 and is pivoted at 5.8 to the disc5'l.

The operation of this modified Tiorm of the 'feed limiting deviceis that on'the application o'fpressure to the operating handle to rotate theshaft 5D the pawl 51 first exerts radially inward pressure on the stop pawl and "forces -itout of engagement with the aperture '54. When the pawl 55 has been disengaged from .theaperture continued pressure on the handle causes the pawl '51 by its engagement with the aperture to rotate'the driven member untilsuch'time as the stop pawl drops into the next aperture =54 and prevents further rotation.

In a further modified arrangement as shown diagrammatically in Figure 7 the driving pawl '60is pivotedat-G i on the'endof-an-arm' dz freely mounted on the driving shaft 63. The operative part -64 "of the pawl leads "the pivot-as considered esteem 5... in the driving direction. One side face of the pawl has two upstandingprojections 65, B6,one on either side of the pivot 6|. The driving shaft 63 has a rigidly attached arm 61 of which the free end lies between the aforesaid projections 65, 66. In this arrangement when feeding pressure is applied to the handlethe fixed arm engages the projection 65 on the pawl on the leading side of the pivot'and rocks the pawl about the pivot thereby causing the operative part 64 of the pawl to move outwardly and to disengage the stop pawl 68 from the driven member 69. When the feeding operation is completed and the handle starts to return the fixed arm engages the other projection 66 on the driving pawl and rocks the pawl about its pivot to disengage-it from the driving member. I

'In the example shown in Figures 8 and 9 the driven member is in the form of a gear wheel I rotatable on a stub shaft IM and having attached to one side face of the gear wheel a disc I02 having on one face an upstanding ring I03- concentric with the axis of rotation of the wheel. The ring has four gaps I04 or apertures equally spaced around its circumference. A stop pawl is pivoted to an auxiliary frame I forming part of the register casing; the pivot I06 being outside the ring and ahead of the operative part of the pawl considered in the direction of rotation of the ring. The pawl isin the form of a lever I01 having at its free end a laterally extending pin I08 which forms the operative part of the pawl and is arranged to engage in notches I09 in the edgerof the disc registering with the aforesaid gaps'or apertures I04 in the ring. Thepawl is spring urged by a spring H0 to engage the pin I08 in the notches. The handle III'- is mounted for rotation on the aforesaid stub shaft IOI ad-,

jacent to the disc on the 'sidethereof carrying thev ring. A spring H2 tends to rotate the handle in the idling direction (i. e. in the clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 8). Pivoted to the handle at a position inside and adjacent to the ring (1. e. at H3) there is a pawl H4 of which the operative end I I5 leads the handle in the operative direction of rotation (the anti-clockwise direction in Figure 8) and the length of which lies at an angle of about 45 to 60 to the length of the handle when the pawl is in engagement with a gap in the ring as shown and as later described. A spring H6 interconnecting the pawl and the lever urges the operative end of the pawl radially outwards of the ring. The edges Ill of the gaps or apertures in the ring are chamfered to conform approximately with the angle of the pawl and the arrangement is that whenever the pawl comes into registration with one of the gaps it is urged into the gap by the spring.

The gear I00 is in driving engagement through a train of gears H8 with a smaller gear H9 mounted on a shaft carrying one or a pair of pin wheels I20 for driving engagement with marginal perforations in the stationery strips to be fed across the writing platen of the register. The shaft may also carry a ratchet wheel co-operating with a further pawl to constitute a non-return device preventing backward movement of the stationery.

The operation of the feed limiting device described above is as follows. When operating pressure is applied to the handle the driving pawl (i. e. the pawl carried by the handle) is brought into engagement-if it is not already in such engagement-with one of the gaps in the ring, the gap being that which registers with the then continued until the stop pawl engages with the next notch preventing further movement of the driven member and the handle. The handle is then released and the spring returns the handle and the driving pawl idly to their original positions ready for the next operation of the device. The quarter turn-given .to the driven member in this way is transmitted through the gears to the shaft carrying the pinwheels which feed a corresponding length of stationery across the writing platen.

The invention is not restricted to the constructional details described above. For instance, there may be a lesser or greater number than four gaps and corresponding notches in the driven member in the construction just described. For example there may be five such gaps and notches in which case the driven member will be rotated one fifth of a revolution on each operation of the handle.

I claim:

1. In an autographic register of the type in which a supply of continuous stationery strips is traversed step-by-step across a writing platen by feeding means operable by successive oscillatory movements of an external handle having a driving connection with the feeding means, a feed limiting device comprising a rotatable driven member provided with circumferential notches and constituted in part by a ring having at least two apertures in its circumference, a stop pawl movably mounted outside the ring and arranged automatically to engage -in turn notches in the driven member to stop rotation of the driven member, and a pawl constituting a driving mem-,- ber movable by the handle and positioned inside the ring. and arranged to effect a pawl-andratchet engagement with the apertures in the ring to efiect a one-wayfeeding drive from the handle to the ring and, at the beginning of each operation of the handle in the feeding direction, to make such engagement from the inside of the ring with that one of the apertures which is then opposite the stop pawl, to pass through the aperture thereby to engage the stop pawl and to push the stop pawl out of the notch and then by its engagement with the aperture to rotate the ring on continued movement of the handle in the same direction until the stop pawl by engagement with the next notch prevents further movement of the ring.

2. In an autographic register of the type in which a supply of continuous stationery strips in traversed step-by-step across a writing platen by feeding means operable by successive oscillatory movements of an external handle having a driving connection with the feeding means, a feed limiting device comprising a rotatable driven member constituted in part by a disc provided with circumferential notches and constituted in part by a ring having at least two apertures in its circumference, a stop pawl movably mounted outside the ring and arranged automatically to engage in turn notches in the driven member to stop rotation of the driven member, and a pawl constituting a driving member movable by the handle and positioned inside the ring and arranged to efiect a pawl-and-ratchet engagement with the apertures in the rin to fi ect e p eew y feedi g d e om the hendie to menus and at the beginni g o a h o e at on o th an le in the feedin dire tion, to make such a ement from the inside of the ring with that one of the apertures which is then opposite the stop p wl, o pass t rough he ap rture the b t ena e the stop pawl and t push-the stappa out of the notch and then by its engagement with the aperture to rotate the ring on continued move, ment of the handle in the same direction until the stop pawl by engagement with the next notch prevents further movement of the ring.

3. In an autographic re ister of the type in which a supply of continuous stationery strips is traversed stepebyrstep across a writing platen by feeding means operable by successive oscillatory movements of an external handle having a driving connection with the feeding means, a feed limiting device comprising a rotatable driven member constituted in part by a disc provided with circumferential notches and constituted in part by a ring having at least two apertures in its circumference, which apertures are in registry with said notches, .a stop pawl moi/ably mounted outside the ring and arranged automatically to engage in turn notches in the driven member to stop rotation of the driven member, and a pawl constituting a driving membermovable by the handle and positioned inside the ring and arra to e e t a nawl andfle he en ag nt with the apertures in the ring to eliect a one-way d n r v rom the han l t the rin a d, at the beginning of each operation of the handle the feeding direction, to make snch engage; 'ment from the inside .of the ring with that one .of the apertures which is then opposite the stop pawl, ,to pass through the aperture thereby to engage the stop pawl and to push the stop pawl out of the notch and then by its engagement with the aperture to rotate the ring on continued movement of the handle in the same direction until-the stop pawl by engagement with the next notch prevents further movement .of the ring.

it. In an autographic register of the type in which a supply of continuous stationery strips int rred seawa r a t-ass a w iti pla by eed n m ans th at??? by ai f 1 l let ry more at an ex ern nd her a driv ng qd i i n wi t e n feed l miting device comprising a rotatable dnyen member eens teted ear a s m n e with circumferential notches and constituted in a t by a rin having t as two e wre in its circumference, which apertures are in registr with a d n tch s a the pa veii y mou ted eets de t e ims d arranged alli ementall to e ieeee turn no c e in t e d en memb to i n rate an o t e dri n ember. a d. a paw censti e d in m mber ivot:

ed on an mo a le time hand e a Pi ns de th r n and ar a ed t e ec a na i and-ratchet engagement with the apertures in the r n t eiie a one-way feedin d ive ite he ha e to the ine and at t e be nnin 9? ch o e a i n .of the dle n the i e ne i? c on to make ch en agemen m h n: ide or the i wit at n o he a t es which i the opposit the s p awl t Pas through the aperture thereby to eng e the stop n wa d to push the s p aw of the n h and then by its engagement with the aperture to rotate the ring on continued movement of the handle in the same direction until the stop pawl by engagement with the next notch prevents further movement of the ring.

a er ree new i- BeF- NQES CITED The following references are .of record in the 319 0? hi a nt: U ED fiTA'IES PA YE 

